Table saw guard

A saw guard for a table saw having a horizontal table with a blade access opening and a saw blade extending through the access opening to project above the surface of the table comprising:

• said horizontal table having a top surface for supporting material to be cut and a bottom surface;
• a blade access opening cover disposed in said access opening and conforming to the shape thereof, said access opening cover being flush with the top surface of said horizontal table and having an elongated slit formed therein for permitting said saw blade to extend upwardly therethrough;
• a guide post fixedly secured to said blade access opening cover to extend vertically above said horizontal table;
• a table saw guard mounted on said guide post so as to be vertically slideable on said guide post such that said table saw guard rests on said access opening cover when a cutting operation is not in progress and wherein said saw guard slides upwardly on said guide post during a cutting operation in response to material to be cut being fed into said saw blade;
• said table saw guard including a guide channel vertically extending through one end thereof, said guide channel having a leading edge and a trailing edge with at least one bearing mounted therein adjacent the leading edge of said guide post and at least one bearing mounted therein adjacent the trailing edge of said guide post;
• said bearing mounted adjacent said leading edge of said guide post being disposed at an upper portion of said guide channel and said bearing mounted adjacent said trailing edge of said guide post being disposed at a lower portion of said guide channel;
• and
• means secured to the underside of said access opening cover for engaging the bottom surface of said horizontal table for preventing lifting of said access opening cover from said horizontal table during operation of said table saw.